The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1887-09-21
A Buccaneer of the Sixteenth
Century.


Century.
The greatest Of all the buccaneers. be
who stands pre-eminent amongst them
and whose name even TO this day is d
charm to call up his deeds of daring, his
dauntless courage, his trnculent cruelty
and his insatiate and unappeasable lust
for gold, was Captain Henry Morgan, the
bold Welshman, who brought buccaneer-
ing to the height and flower Of its glory
Having sold himself, after the manner
of the times, for his passage across the
seas, he worked out his time of seryi-
tude at the Barbadoes. As soon as he
had regained his liberty he entered upon
the trade Of piracy, wherein he soon
reached position Of considerable prom
inenee.
The iirst attempt that Captain Henry
Morgan ever made against any town in
the Spanish Indies was the bold descent
upon the city of Puerto del Principe in
the island Of Cuba, with mere handful
of men II was deed the boldness of
which WAS never outdone by any Of like
nature-not even the famous attack upon
Panama itself Thence they returned to
their boats in the very face of the whole
island Of Cuba, aroused and determined
upon their determination. Not only did
they make good their escape. but they
brought away with them vast amount
of piunder, computed at three hundred
thousand pieces Of eight, besides five
hundred head Of cattle and many pris-
oners held for ransom.
But when the division Of all this
wealth came to be- made, 10 there were
only fifty thousand pieces of eight to be
found What had become Of the rest no
man could tell but Captain Henry Nor
gan himself. Honesty amongst thieves
was never an axiom with him.
Rude, truculent and dishonest as Cap
tain Morgan was, he seems to have had a
wonderful power Of persuading the wild
buccaneer under him to submit every
thing to his judgment, and 10 reIv entire
ly upon his word. In spite of the vast
sum of money that he had very evident
ly made away with, recruits poured
in upon him. until his band was better
and larger equipped than ever.
The
Maracaybo and Gibraltar, now just be-
ginning to recover from the desolation
wrought by LOlonoise. Once more both
towns were plundered of every bale of
merchandise and Of every piastre, and
once more both were ransomed until ev-
erything was squeezed from the wretched
inhabitants.
Here affairs were like TO have taken a
turn, for when Captain Morgan came up
from Gibraltar, be found three great
men-of-war lying in the entrance TO the
lake awaiting his coming. Seeing that
he was hemmed in on the narrow sheet
of water. Captain Morgan was inclined
to compromise the matter, even offering
TO relinquish all the plumber he had
gained if he were allowed 10 depart in
peace. But no; the Spanish admiral
would hear nothing of this. Having the
pirates, as he thought, securely in his
grasp he would relinquish nothing. but
would sweep them from the face Of the
sea once and forever.
That was an unlucky determination
for the spaniards to reach for, instead of
paralyzing the pirates with fear, as he
expected it would DO, it simply turned
their mad courage into as mad despera-
ton.
A great vessel that they had taken
with the town Of Maracaybo was CONVEX
ted into fire ship, manned with logs of
wood in montera caps and sailor Jackets,
and filed with birthstone. pitch and
palm leaves soaked in oil. Then out Of
the lake the pirates sailed to NEE the
Spaniards. the fre-ship leading the way
and bearing down directly upon the adj
mirals vessel. At the helm stood volun-
teers the most desperate and bravest of
the pirate gang, and at the ports stood the
logs of wood in montera caps. 30 they
came up with the admiral, and grappled
with his ship in spite Of the thunder Of
all his great guns, and then the Span
lard saw, all too late, what his opponent
really was.
He tried 70 swing loose, but clouds Of
smoke and almost instantly mas Of
roaring flames enveloped both vessels,
and the admiral was lost The second
vessel, not wishing 10 wait for the coming
OF the pirates, bore down upon the fort
under the guns Of which the eowardly
crew sank her, and made the best of
their way 10 the shore. The third vessel,
not having an opportunity to escape, was
taken by the pirates without the slight
est resistance, and the passage from the
lake was cleared 20 the buccaneers
sailed away, leaving Maracayboand Glib
raltar PROSTATE a second time.
And now Captain Morgan determined
TO undertake another venture, the like Of
which had never been equalled in all Of
the annals Of bucclneering. This was
nothing less than the descent upon and
the capture of Panama, which was. next
to Cartagena, perhaps. the most powerful
and the most strongly fortified city in the
West Indies.
Down they poured upon Panama, and
cut came the Spaniards to meet them
four hundred horse, two thousand five
hundred foot, and two thousand wild
bulls which had been herded together
to he driven over the buccaneers so that
their ranks might be disOrdered and bro
ken. The buccaneers were only eight
hundred strong; the Others had either
fallen in battle or had dropped along the
ireary pathway through the wilderness;
but in the space Of two hours the Span
ards were flying msdly over the plain.
minus six hundred who lay dead or dy-
ing behind them